


Graduation Day

by Banshi13



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Graduation, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Romance, mcdanno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-17 23:16:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15472287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Banshi13/pseuds/Banshi13
Summary: “You haven’t felt this way the entire time,” Rachel continued, as if he hadn’t said anything at all.  “It just… kind of crept up on you one day, didn’t it?  One afternoon you were driving him crazy as you normally do, and you happened to look at him, perhaps say something to him to watch his head explode and get your hourly chuckle and that’s when it happened; something just changed, and you started looking at him a little differently.”





	Graduation Day

**Author's Note:**

> One of my favorite things about Hawaii Five-0 is watching Scott Caan play Danny as a father. There are so many shows these days that portray fathers as behind the times, checked out of their kids lives, or completely flabbergasted as to what to do when a crisis happens. I absolutely love that the producers, writers, and Scott have portrayed Danny as a very intelligent, ‘down with the 411’ father who is completely invested in his kids lives, who has high expectations of them, who is very masculine and is not afraid to show both masculinity and love and tender care towards his kids. I’ve often said since I started watching this show that if anyone needs any guidance on how to be a dad, watch Scott Caan play Danny Williams as a father. 
> 
> This story is something that popped into my head a few weeks ago; hopefully we’ll get a season 10, and by my estimate, that means Grace should be graduating from high school around that time – at which point we will likely see Danny Williams go completely mad. In the meantime, I thought it’d be kind of adorbs to write this little graduation party story that’s been percolating in my mind for a bit, with doses of Grace and Danny, stirred gently, with a dash (gallon) of McDanno mixed in. I hope you enjoy, and as always, comments are my chocolate.
> 
>  
> 
> _Disclaimer: Hawaii Five-O, as well as the characters found within the series, are owned by CBS Productions, K/O Paper Productions, and 101st Street Productions. No profit is being made off this work._

**Hawaii Five-0**

"Alright, we got burgers, hot dogs, chicken, flank steak strips…hey, get out of here, what's the matter with you?" Danny tapped each platter as he named off the protein placed on it while simultaneously trying to keep Eddie from leaping up on the counter to snag a bite. Steve's kitchen island was completely taken hostage by various assortments of meats and poultry to be grilled, and for any guy it was truly a beautiful site. It would be better if the spread being prepared was for a football game, but alas, it was for a medium sized group of newly graduated high school seniors, and that reminder caused both a pang of sadness and a hefty amount of pride to swell in Danny's heart.

His little girl had graduated that morning. At 11:06am, Grace Williams had walked across the stage and accepted her diploma, white heels, graduation cap and all. At 11:12am, Danny had watched as she flung her cap into the air, the large numbers of '5-0' sailing up and back down in triumph. Both he and Rachel had been beyond pleased, far past proud as their first born jumped up and down with her classmates, hugged her friends, took selfies, and posed for pictures. Stan had been there, as had Steve, and Danny had found himself grateful that the former had joined them. Stan and Rachel may have had their divorce finalized only recently, but the man had been a father figure in Grace's life for over ten years, and it said a lot about Stan's character that he'd shown up today, all smiles.

The guy had even paid for most of the food for her party later in the afternoon.

"It's the least I can do, Danny," Stan had waved the detective off, and Steve too, as he wrote a check for $250.00 right in front of both of them. "I know you two can pay for it, no doubt in my mind about that, but you guys are providing the place, you're letting 20 high schoolers run all over your property for the rest of the afternoon, and you're going to be the ones cleaning it up- and believe me, I've been there done that –" he ripped the check from his book and handed it over. "So, really-"

"-it's the least you can do," Steve nodded. "Makes perfect sense to me." Steve had grinned, Stan had chuckled, and Danny had just shrugged his shoulders. More money meant more food, and after telling Rachel she could arrive around 3:00pm and making sure to invite Stan as well, Steve and Danny had headed off to the grocery store. The check out clerk had jokingly asked them if they were preparing for the end of the world, and when Danny had mentioned the graduation party, the clerk had only nodded, answered "so that's a yes", and had proceeded to gift them with a 10% purchase coupon.

Now, as Danny was lining up the condiments, which included everything from mustards, relish, ketchup, and mayonnaise to barbeque sauce and something that Steve had whipped up specifically for the flank steaks, the detective was more grateful than ever for the small mercies that had been shown towards his bank account that day.

He just hoped the same pity would be taken on Steve's house when all was said and done.

"Hey, Babe, you about ready out there?"

"Yea, bring it all out!" Danny grinned hearing the lilt of happiness in Steve's voice. If there was one more person possibly more excited than Grace, it would be his insane menace of a partner. Steve hadn't so much as hesitated for one second to offer his place up as the venue for Grace's party when Danny had been having trouble finding a place that wouldn't cost him an arm and a leg.

_"Have it here, Danny," Steve said._

_"Steve, that's… very nice of you, but I don't think you realize what you're offering," Danny pushed back gently as he looked over at him from where he was sitting._

_"A graduation party for Gracie?" Steve looked so damn innocent that Danny had to smile._

_"Uh… yes, but do you know all that that actually entails?" Danny started listing them off one by one._

_"It means 20 to 30 kids that you don't know running around your house and your back yard yelling and screaming; it means them all eating you out of house and home; it means them tracking sand and water through your living room to use your bathroom; and, if any of them were like me when I was in high school, it means keeping the ones that really want to find some privacy from doing so."_

_Steve snickered at the last point. "Story for another time," he murmured into his beer bottle before taking a sip. "And I appreciate what you're saying, Danny, but really – none of those things bother me. It's for Gracie," he shrugged, "and I have a vacuum cleaner, a mop, and an awesome grill as you well know."_

_"I do know that, I know that very well."_

_"Yes, you do."_

_"I eat off that grill once a week."_

_"Yes, you do," Steve grinned at him. "Honestly, man; save yourself the money, have the party here, spend what you were gonna spend for the venue on the food instead. Tell Gracie to pick any 20 of her friends and be here at three in the afternoon after her graduation. We'll handle everything else."_

And like so many times before, Danny had listened. Now, he was carrying the platters out to the grill and was just turning to head back into the house to get more food when he heard the front door open and close and familiar voices drift his way.

"Hey, there she is!" Danny made his way towards Grace in a few quick strides, hugging her tightly and dropping a kiss into her hair. He was going to get his affections in before her gaggle of friends arrived and she could shoo him off with embarrassed _"Danno's!"_ and _"Daaaad's!"_ "Go and help Uncle Steve with the food, huh?"

As Grace went on her way, Rachel came up behind with Charlie in tow. "There's my guy," Danny bent down and picked his son up, giving him a tight hug. "You ready for some fun today, huh? With me and Uncle Steve and the rest?"

Charlie gave an enthusiastic nod. "He's been asking about your Junior," Rachel grinned as she smoothed her hand through Charlie's hair. "He hasn't stopped talking about him since the last time they saw each other; Charlie insists that he plays 'Cops and Robbers' better than anyone."

"Oh, well, that's because Junior's a big kid and a Navy SEAL, just like Uncle Steve," Danny bounced Charlie in his arms a little as he turned and headed out to the lanai, Rachel following behind him. "Granted, he's not crazy like Uncle Steve, but he definitely knows how to play a good game of 'Cops and Robbers'-"

"Uncle Steve!" Charlie was squirming down from Danny and running over to Steve, who turned around from talking to Grace just in time to catch him. "Whoa, buddy – we gotta be careful, yea? Don't want you running into the grill, alright?"

Charlie heard none of that. "Uncle Steve is your friend Junior coming over?"

"Junior, Tani, Lou, Jerry – yep, they'll all be here."

As Steve busied himself with the kids and now a very excited Eddie, who was yipping about in excitement, Rachel and Danny watched from a bit further back. "Is she still fighting with Will?" Danny asked quietly.

"More like they've entered Cold War stage," Rachel eased herself down into a chair at Danny's invitation and folded her hands on her lap, looking up at him. "They've put away their nuclear bombs, but each knows the other can launch at a moment's notice."

"Uh huh," Danny didn't find that familiar. Not at all. "You think she'll be okay with Will here? I mean Lou and Renee are coming, Steve invited them, and Gracie wanted Samantha here-"

"Surprisingly enough, she called Will a few days ago and invited him herself," Rachel shrugged at her ex-husband. "Like I said – they've put away their missiles for the moment, but they're still in the stage of not being afraid to drag them back out if they feel the need."

"Since when do you make artillery metaphors?"

Rachel grinned. "Have you heard your daughter fight before?"

Danny shook his head.

"She's rather like you; all precision attacks, starting out small, exchanging for higher caliber as needed." Rachel gave the man a graceful smile, her gaze sliding towards her children. "She holds her largest bullet for her final shot, the one she takes when she's well and truly had enough, but through it all, she's more like a sniper where you were explosive – quiet, patient, waiting for the perfect moment to deploy that one narrative that will finish an argument in her favor."

"Yea, that sounds like me – not the quiet part, but all the rest of it." Danny shuffled a bit, sliding his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts. "Hopefully she doesn't let it get out of control like I did."

"You had help when it got out of control, Danny." Rachel looked up at him. "It wasn't all you. It wasn't all me. It was both of us; we were destructive together, it's just who we were, no matter how hard we tried not to be so."

There weren't many people Danny gave his coveted soft, loving smiles to, and for a long time after their divorce, Rachel was definitely not one of those people, but even after everything that had happened between them, she'd worked her way back in, and he gave her one of those smiles now. "You want a drink?"

"Water would be lovely."

**Hawaii Five-0**

By 4:00pm, the party was in full swing. Altogether, around 30 bathing suit clad individuals were enjoying the festivities. Most of the newly graduated seniors were making their mark down by the shoreline, beach towels and chairs of various sizes dotting the private beach behind Steve's house, and the head of Five-0 couldn't be happier about it. He was manning the grill with a grin on his face, plates of meat piled high on the long table he'd set out to accommodate the massive feast he, Danny, Stan, and Rachel had provided for all of them. Steve was on the second round of burgers, chicken, hotdogs, and steak while the adults hung back on the lanai, allowing the kids to have their fun under a watchful, but not too invasive eye.

"They're just having a little lovers tiff, that's all," Lou shrugged as he caught Steve up on the latest goings on with Grace and Will. "They'll either get over it, or they'll break up."

"But what are they fighting about?" Steve still hadn't gotten the answer to that yet.

"Will was talking about maybe going to school back on the mainland near Chicago, that's all."

Steve frowned. "That's it? That's what they're fighting about?"

"Grace doesn't want to go to school on the mainland, she wants to go to school in Hawaii," Lou explained, "and originally, Will was trying to convince her with creature comforts, you know – Chicago has seasons, snow, they'd have a real Christmas, the food would be what they were used to when they were younger, things like that. So, when Grace heard all that, she said 'well, why don't we just both go to school in New Jersey', to which Will replied that he actually wanted to get an education worth the tens of thousands of dollars he was going to spend – not that he would be spending it, that's all his mother and me, but I appreciated the consideration."

"Ahhh," Steve nodded in understanding. "And they were off after that, I take it?"

"Oh yes," Rachel broke in from her chair. "Grace took it as a personal attack against her birth state and where much of her family still lives. She threw some insults Will's way about Chicago and how she wanted to make it through college alive-"

"Ouch," even Danny winced at that one.

"I told you she's rather like you when she fights, Daniel," Rachel gave the man a knowing look before continuing, "and it just devolved from there."

"And now instead of completely enjoying the graduation party, they are making goo-goo eyes at each other over the heads of their friends, each one refusing to make the first move to make up," Renee flopped into a chair beside Rachel and clinked her glass with the other woman's. "Here's to our first loves."

"Here, here, and another beer," Lou grinned while everyone else cheered and or raised their glasses.

While the parentals, and pseudo-parentals stayed closer to the house, Tani, Junior, and Jerry were down near the surf engaging the party guests. Eddie had also made his way down to the beach and was currently enjoying a game of 'Catch the Frisbee' with the kids. Junior especially was rather popular with the girls, and Jerry and Will had settled off to the side, quietly talking with each other. Every now and again, Will would glance Grace's way, and the girl would quickly avert her eyes in the other direction. After around the fifth time, Jerry asked what he thought was a fairly obvious question.

"Why don't you just go over and talk to her?"

"Nah, I can't do that." Will's head shook vehemently from side to side.

"Okay…" Jerry frowned, racking his brain. "Why?"

"Because if I go over to her first, it's like I'm saying I was wrong, and she was right."

"Or… or, it could be you saying, 'hey, let's talk and make up'," Jerry shifted a bit in his seat, laying his latest conspiracy theory novel down in the sand by the legs of the chair, "and then you'd get the credit for getting your relationship back on track again."

"Not sure I want to get a relationship back on track when my girlfriend insults my home city." Petulant Will was petulant.

"Okay, but… you know, you kinda did the same thing." God bless, Jerry but the man was trying his best. "Look, instead of worrying about who insulted what first, why not focus on the reason for your fight – you wanted to go to school on the mainland, she wants to go to school here, right?"

Will nodded.

"Alright, so, I may look like I have all the answers to life's greatest mysteries, but really, I'm just as clueless as the next guy."

Will gave him a dubious look, a carbon copy of the look his father would often give either McGarrett or Williams when he though they were going off the deep end. "You don't say?"

"I do say, that's what I'm saying," Jerry continued. "You both just graduated high school, you're 18 years old, and you guys are acting like you're going to spend the rest of your lives together, but you haven't even really experienced life yet, you know?"

"Jerry, no offense, but… you lived in your mom's basement for 35 years."

"Which makes me even more qualified to say get out and live your life now and then figure out who you want to settle down with." Jerry looked at the younger man. "Do you even know what you want to major in?"

Will shrugged.

"Well, there you go. If you don't know what you want to do, there's really no point in moving all the way back to Chicago just yet. Why not take a gap year or something? Work a bunch, save some money, think about what you want to do and then decide?" Jerry was rather pleased with himself as he leaned down once more to pick up his book. "But first, go make up with Grace."

"Why do I have to make up with her?" Will was outright whining now; he didn't care. "Why can't she come over here and apologize to me?"

"Because, my young, stubborn friend, one, she is a woman and therefore way more stubborn than you, and two, her father is Danny Williams, and he will not hesitate to bury the body of anyone who makes his daughter upset."

That observation got Will's attention, and the kid was suddenly transported back nearly four years to a certain winter formal where Danny had in fact cornered him in the men's room and had laid down the law very firmly, in frighteningly clear terms, regarding how he expected his daughter to be treated at all times.

Tears and sadness hadn't made that list.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you're here willingly," Jerry was saying. "I mean, he's standing right over there, you know, he has a front row seat to you basically giving the light of his life the cold shoulder. If she starts crying at any point during this party, you can rest assured that you're gonna be on the hook for that-"

"Okay! Okay, alright, fine, okay!" At this point, Will just wanted – _needed_ \- to get away from Jerry, partially because the guy was annoying him, but mostly because Jerry was scaring the hell out of him with tales of any number of volatile reactions that Danny could have upon his realization that his baby girl was hurt by one of the male species.

**Hawaii Five-0**

By the time 8:00pm rolled around, most of Grace's friends had left of their own volition or had been picked up by their parents, each graduate making sure to find Steve before they left and thank him sincerely for allowing them in his home. All things considered, the damage wasn't that bad. Sure, there was sand and some minor puddles of water on the floor leading to and from the kitchen and the bathroom, and yea, the tables were strewn with plates, cups, napkins, and other paraphernalia when a trash bag hadn't been readily available, but by and large, the house and the backyard were in pretty good shape. Steve had waved off any offers of help from Grace or her friends, sending her back down to the beach with drinks and food and telling her to have fun. Lou, Renee, and Samantha had left around 7:00pm and Tani, Junior, and Jerry hadn't been too far behind them. After the last guest had driven off, the only ones that remained were Steve, of course, along with Danny, Rachel, and Charlie, who was sacked out in one of the guest rooms, and Grace and Will, who appeared to be having a quiet conversation near the surf.

"Looks like things are righting themselves over there." Danny stood quietly, like a sentinel, watching the backyard as if ninjas were going to suddenly spring out from the trees; to be fair, it wouldn't be the first time it happened. But Rachel only smiled and nodded, handing him one of the left-over beers. "Much to your shock and sadness, I'm sure."

"What are you talkin'- look, yes, I admit it, I am going to rue the day that Gracie gets married, okay?" Danny worried his bottom lip. "And yes, I plan to put whoever the schmuck is through the gauntlet to make sure Grace isn't settling down with some putz like her old man, but honestly… you know, if they make it that far," Danny gestured towards Will and Grace, "Will's not such a bad kid for her to settle down with, you know?" He felt a reassuring pat on his shoulder from his ex-wife, and he found himself silently thanking God, or Pele, or who or whatever, that he and she could have this kind of relationship now.

"Charlie's still sleeping in the guest room, but if you'll be kind enough to get his things together for me, I'm going to go down and say goodbye to Grace." Rachel looked over her shoulder where Steve had just come out onto the Lanai. "Steven, you're certain you don't mind Grace spending the night here? I'll of course be over straight away tomorrow morning to take her to the airport." Steve just waved her off.

"Gracie's welcome here whenever she wants, Rachel, don't worry about it." She nodded and looked at Danny before heading down to the water's edge. While Danny moved to get Charlie's things together, as well as some left-over food for Rachel to take home, Steve headed into the guest room to get Charlie, and by the time Rachel was standing back in the living room, her ex-husband and Steve were standing there waiting for her.

"Alright, well I don't want to jostle Charlie but so much, so, Steve would you mind awfully carrying him out to the car for me? And I'll take his things, Daniel," Rachel moved to transfer the bag and plates to her possession and pulling away only after placing a quick kiss on Danny's cheek. Danny pressed a kiss of his own into Charlie's hair and with one last gentle swipe of the boy's hair allowed Steve to follow Rachel from the house.

"I really appreciate you allowing Grace to have her party here, Steven," Rachel opened the back-seat car door for Steve to carefully place her son in the seat and buckle him securely. "She had a wonderful time. If your restaurant is half the success this day was, you've nothing to worry about."

"Ah, she deserved it, you know. She's been through a lot. Really Rachel, I was glad to do it for her," Steve beamed, and Rachel considered him quietly for a few moments. "You know," she cast a measuring gaze Steve's way, "Danny's just as grateful as I am for you being in her life, but I also think he's very happy that you're in his."

"Well, ya know, once you make it past the yelling and the arm flailing, the uh… the 'menace' this and 'neanderthal' that, he gets a bit easier to read," Steve laughed; Rachel continued looking at him.

"Feel free to tell me if I'm off my mark, but are you planning on telling Danny how you feel about him anytime soon?"

The Brit actually felt a little sorry for Steve as she watched his mouth open and close like a fish, attempting multiple times to form some kind of answer but failing miserably. "It's alright, Commander," she finally soothed him and leaned back on the hood of her car. "It's probably just as shocking to you that I know."

 _"How?"_ Steve managed, gaping at her in shock, and not a little discomfort. "I don't – how did you know?"

"You haven't felt this way the entire time," Rachel continued, as if Steve hadn't said anything at all. "It just… kind of crept up on you one day, didn't it? One afternoon you were driving Daniel crazy as you normally do, and you happened to look at him, perhaps say something to him to watch his head explode and get your hourly chuckle and that's when it happened; something just changed, and you started looking at him a little differently."

"Rachel… I…"

"It's alright, Steven." She pushed off the car, smoothing her short brown hair behind her ears. "You should tell him." He shook his heat her almost immediately. "I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Why?" Challenge laid down. "You're worried it would affect your work? Afraid it wouldn't work out, that you'd lose him all together? Steven, Daniel couldn't lose you if he _tried._ " She bit her lip. "And I think, that if you tell him, you won't be disappointed."

Steve felt like he needed to sit down. He must have looked like it too, because he felt Rachel's hand on his arm, and as he looked down at her, he saw what must have attracted Daniel to her in the first place; she was a petite thing, all big brown eyes and thick chocolate hair, but she had a strength and a compassion about her that must have knocked Daniel for a loop all those years ago, a gentle steadiness that radiated off of her. "He's not gay, Steven. He's not even bisexual, and I feel rather comfortable in saying that if he had had any wild university experiences that he'd have told me at some point during our relationship and subsequent marriage. But I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of his affections. I know what he looks like when he is completely head over heels for someone, and I also know what it looks like when he's trying to hide something, even when he doesn't realize he's doing any of it." Rachel pursed her lips together and stepped back after a few moments. "I'll be here tomorrow morning at 8:00am to pick Grace up." As she headed for the car door though, Steve's voice stopped her.

"I… I mean, I guess if you're telling me all of this… Would I – would we have your blessing?"

"You don't need my permission, Steven."

"You share kids with him, Rachel," Steve fixed her with a look. "If I tell him, either tonight, or later, regardless of what happens with us, I have to know that you'll be okay with it; that the kids will be okay with it."

"Steven, Grace adores you. You've been a father figure to her ever since she met you at that football game ten years ago. And my son loves you almost or as much as he loves his Danno. As long as you and Daniel are alright, the children will be alright as well. I've learned that the hard way." She shooed him off with a hand. "Now, go and tell him. And make sure that if Will spends the night, he does so well away from my daughter, please?"

Steve actually blushed and waved at her as she got in the car and turned the engine over. Once the tail lights to her Mercedes were well out of his view, Steve turned and, instead of heading back into the house via the front door, chose to walk around the back. The sun was just beginning to set, the dulled colors of dusk weaving across the sky over the ocean. The local animal life were just beginning to call out their territories for the night, frogs, owls, and other creatures singing into the night. As he gazed around the back yard, he could see Will and Grace, who had made their way further inland by now and were holding each other loosely. _Crisis averted_ , Steve smiled softly to himself as he headed towards the lanai and paused briefly by the laptop Will had set up earlier in the day. The kid had rigged speakers to it which had provided a pretty impressive sound radius. Finding a chunk of songs that Steve knew to be ballads and other assorted love songs, he pressed play and stepped back, quite pleased with himself as music began to permeate the air, and when Will and Grace turned their confused heads towards the house, Steve just waved at them and headed inside.

Danny was busy at the sink, scrubbing one of the platters vigorously in soapy water, hard enough that the water was swishing over the sides of the sink and onto the floor, but either Danny didn't notice (which, really, how could he not – water splashing all over him?), or he didn't care.

"Danny, just let it soak, buddy, it'll be easier that way."

It took approximately 2.5 seconds for Steve to realize that something was wrong. Between Steve leaving Danny in the living room ten minutes earlier to walking into the kitchen and finding his partner, something had happened. Steve glanced around trying to figure out what it might be before he out right asked, but nothing sprang to mind. "Danny? You alright?"

"Fine," his friend grit out, not moving from the sink, nor turning around to even so much as glance at Steve.

"Oh, okay, because uh… this thing you're doing right now, this is what you usually do when you're pissed off. What happened, man? I know the music really isn't your thing, but I thought it'd be nice for Gracie and Will to dance to-"

"Oh for…" Danny dropped the platter into the sink, soap and water spilling out over the edge and all over the cabinets and the floor. He braced his hands on the lining of the counter and hung his head for a few moments. "It's not the dancing, the dancing is fine – I mean, it's not fine, I don't ever want her dancing with a boy, ever, but there's not much I can do about it now."

"Okay… so, then what is it?" Steve was truly at a loss, stepping up to the island that was between him and Danny as the detective slowly turned around and ran a hand through his hair. He was worrying his bottom lip, which instantly put Steve on higher alert; it was a classic tell that Danny was uncertain, and one thing Steve had learned about Danny early on in their friendship was that Danny absolutely, positively, without a doubt, did not like uncertainty.

"You and Rachel, outside; what was that?"

"What was what?"

"When you were outside talking with Rachel, she – you two were very friendly, I'm just saying, you know, she was putting her hands all over you-"

"She touched my arm," came Steve's incredulous reply, Danny's implication suddenly crystal clear. "Danny, are you serious right now?" The SEAL couldn't hide the insult in his tone, try as he might, though it was tempered slightly by the guilty look in Danny's very blue eyes. When the other man didn't say anything, Steve just shook his head and reached to his left for the fridge, opening it up, pulling out a Longboard, and opening it with practiced ease. "I'm gonna start cleaning up outside," he muttered, leaving Danny in the kitchen with his soap and his platter and his ridiculousness.

And it was ridiculous; it was asinine, completely and utterly unthinkable that Danny had actually thought for even one second that Steve had been trying to make a move on Rachel. The SEAL found a chair on the porch and moved it off to the corner a bit into the darker side of the lanai, masking his presence from the two young people swaying quietly in the middle of his backyard, close enough to be able to hear the music that still played, but far enough away that Steve couldn't hear anything they were saying if they were indeed talking. He shook his head and took a long pull from his beer and sat quietly like that for a about five minutes before a long shadow appeared. A few moments later, Danny was standing in front of him, wholly contrite as he looked down at Steve. "I'm sorry," he murmured softly.

Steve rolled his beer between his hands and leaned forward just a bit before nodding with a sigh. It was all he needed, really, for Danny to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Steve would never, ever pursue Rachel in that way. On the other hand, this odd misunderstanding did present a rather interesting opportunity. And at least they were both somewhat veiled in the dark. If this went completely wrong, Steve could hopefully avoid Danny seeing his pain. He took a breath and looked up at Danny – now or never.

"You remember when your sister Bridget came to visit a few years ago and you were sure that something was going on with her and her co-worker?"

Danny, confused, none the less nodded his head, grimacing somewhat. "Not my finest hour."

"Yea…that was also when you told me a little more about your ex-partner Grace Tillwell."

Danny's forehead was losing its battle with gravity as his brow furrowed even more. Steve continued to barrel head. "You remember you were telling me that you and Rachel were going through some really hard times and you kinda got disconnected and because of that you started looking at Grace a little differently? Started seeing her a little differently because of… you know, all the time you guys spent together?"

Oh. That. Danny scratched at the back of his ear. "Yea, yes, I remember."

"Okay, well," Steve took a deep breath, as if he were preparing to go underwater for hours on end and needed to suck up every morsel of oxygen there was before he took the dive. "I think I may have the same… not problem, but the same uh, a similar…"

"Issue?" Danny supplied.

"Issue, yes, same issue."

"You… like Tani then?" Danny's voice was tentative, as if he didn't want to make another gargantuan mistake tonight regarding Steve and who he may or may not be interested. "I mean, I don't blame you, she's a perfect match for you, Steve; she's beyond intelligent, she's got bigger balls than 90% of HPD, she gets the job done, she's tenacious, passionate, very, very pretty- "

"S'not Tani, Danny." Steve audibly swallowed and took another breath, forcing himself to continue looking at his partner. "Look, it's not what I planned, it's not – I didn't even think it was possible, but over ten years, however many life and death situations we've been in together, and you bringing the kids around – and then after the uranium bomb, the virus we all got and you getting shot in quarantine, the restaurant, I just woke up one day and realized that I…realized I felt- that I had maybe had some feelings other than just friendship." He released the breath he'd been holding and hung his head for a brief period before chancing a glance up again. He was thankful he didn't see what he was afraid of – an angry, disgusted Danny, and he kicked himself for even thinking that, because this was _Danny_. No, what he saw was a very confused Danny.

"More than friendship for _who_ , Steven?"

"What – Have you not been listening? What do you mean for _who_? For _you_ , that's who!"

Danny looked around, as if he were searching for someone standing behind him that Steve could be referencing, and of course when he didn't find anyone, he turned his stunned gaze back on his partner, who was staring hard at his beer bottle once more. "Me? For me. You – Babe, I mean… are you sure?" He regretted the question the instant it came out of his mouth as he took in Steve's pained look. "I'm sorry, of course you're sure, I didn't…" he huffed, planting his hands on his hips as he tried to gather his thoughts. "Life's never dull with you," he finally managed, quirking a small smile down at Steve. "How long you been feeling like this?"

Steve shook his head slightly. "I dunno. I just… one day, a while back, I just looked at you and saw something different, felt something different," he shrugged, choosing to put his bottle down and clasp his hands nervously instead. "I don't expect anything from you, Danny. I know you don't feel the same."

"Oh, so now you're gonna control how I feel, huh?"

If Steve didn't know Danny as well as he did, he, or anyone for that matter, would have thought Danny's tone irritable, but the SEAL knew it for what it was: Danny's dry, sarcastic humor.

"Look at me, will you?"

Steve huffed out a breath and schooled his features into passivity, doing as Danny asked.

"No, don't do that," the blonde shook his head, frowning, "don't shut yourself off, don't put on that thousand-yard death stare mask that you do when you wanna brace yourself for bad news."

"What do you expect, Danny?" Steve's voice was hoarse. This was torture. It was like he was a defendant in court, waiting for a verdict that he was sure was going to be 'guilty'. "I already know what you're gonna say, I – I had a little bit of hope that maybe you might feel the same way. That's what Rachel and I were talking about out in the drive way," he looked pointedly at his partner. "But, I should have known better. And I really don't expect anything, Danny, the last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable or feel like you can't be normal with me-hmph."

A finger, a very warm, thick, strong finger was holding itself against his mouth. Said finger belonged to Danny, who was giving Steve a look like he'd just discovered a gold mine. "You know one of the most annoying things about my ex-wife?"

Steve shook his head.

"It's that even after all this time, after we met, after we got married and had Grace, separated, went to war, got a divorce, the stuff with Charlie, all of it… after all this time, she still has this crazy intuition that's rarely ever wrong." Danny let his finger slide from Steve's mouth, and the latter man tried to suppress a shiver. That had felt better than it should have. "I bet you didn't even mention it first, she just guessed and put it right there in front of you, hm?" The detective watched his partner nod dumbly.

"I'm not gonna lie, Steve, this… it's uh – well, it's surprising, it's a shock, actually and I'd never really given much thought to it before-" Steve crinkled his eyes at the phrase 'much thought'- "I mean, after a while when the marriage jokes wouldn't lighten up and people kept mistaking us for being together in that way, I may have thought about it once or twice but," Danny shook his head, "never seriously, you know?"

"I understand," Steve's thousand-yard stare was back. He couldn't help it. It was what he did when he had to listen to news he didn't like, didn't want to hear. "We don't have to talk about it again. I'll keep myself in check, man, I promise; you have my word."

"And there you go thinking you can control my feelings again," Danny looked down at him, exasperated. "Steve, I don't hate the idea, okay? Is it weird? Yes, one hundred percent, but I can't figure out if that's because you're my friend and my partner, or if it's because you're a guy. Actually, no, I take that back – I don't even really care that you're a guy. At least I don't think I do."

Steve blinked. "I'm really confused right now."

"Schmuck," Danny muttered, crowding against Steve, the man sitting up a bit straighter in response. "I'm trying to tell you that while yes, I'm surprised – astounded, really - that you feel like this, that it's a bit of a shock to the system, it doesn't disgust me. I don't hate the idea, and I don't hate you for feeling like this, and I swear to all that his holy, Steve, if you treat me differently because of this, I'll drown you in your own backyard ocean." He grinned softly down at him. "I don't think I'm a hard no on this, Babe."

"You're not a hard no?"

Danny shook his head. "Don't think so."

"So… that means?"

"That means let's uh… let's, you know – let's talk, let's give it a try." At Steve's stroked out look, Danny sighed and placed his hands on both of the man's shoulders. "When I came to this island, I was miserable. You know that, it's not like I kept it a secret. I hated it here. I wanted to take Gracie, break up Rachel and Stan, and take both my girls back to Jersey with me. I wanted my family back. You gave me that, Steve." Danny smiled gently at him. "You gave me a family, you gave me a job that didn't suck and that I actually liked, co-workers that I knew I could count on. You treated my daughter like gold, and Charlie too once I found out he was mine. You went with me to court, in your dress blues no less, when I was fighting for custody of Grace to keep her here. You literally helped me bury the body of the man who murdered my brother, and then you got my ass out of Columbia when the feds came for me because of it. When I came up with the crazy idea for a restaurant, you hardly blinked an eye – I asked you to be my partner in it, and you signed on with me, all because I wanted it. And you've saved my life in more ways than one over the last decade." One of Danny's hands slid up Steve's shoulder to his neck, finally resting on the side of his face. "So, you taking the step of talking to me about your feelings, and using whole words, both of which I know are very difficult things for you to do," he smirked as Steve snorted in laughter, "especially after the cards you've been dealt with the love life thing? I owe you, Steve, and don't take that the wrong way – I owe you, I owe myself, I owe us the chance to figure out if what everyone has been saying about us for ten years is true. I mean, there's gotta be a reason why none of the women we dated worked out, right?"

Before Steve could answer, a wet, cold nose brushed his arm and he practically yelped in shock as Eddie maneuvered himself in between the two cops, his little body wiggling and tail wagging wildly. The reason why appeared just a few seconds later; Will and Grace were making their way onto the patio slowly, eyeing the two men warily.

"Were we interrupting… something?" Grace hedged, looking at her father and Steve. Danny could swear she looked just slightly hopeful.

"Nah, Monkey, I'm just getting Uncle Steve here straight about a couple of things." At Steve's second bark of laughter in under two minutes, Danny crinkled his brow and looked at him. "What's so funny about that?" But Steve shook his head, waving the question away. Not in front of Grace, not yet. "So, all's well in your worlds?" Danny pinned them both, Will in particular, with a look, and they nodded in turn. "Yes, Sir, Mr. Williams, we're okay," Will affirmed.

"Good. Good, cuz I gotta say, if I hear anything about you making cracks against New Jersey again, I'm gonna show you why Trenton's considered more dangerous than Chicago."

"Dad." Grace rolled her eyes, tugging on Will's arm. "He doesn't mean it, ignore him. Come on."

"Wait a sec, where are you going?"

"Oh, a couple of friends of ours are meeting a restaurant in the city. We were gonna go hang out for a little while."

Danny nodded. "Home by midnight?"

"Daaaad, I'm 18 years old and I just graduated high school-"

"Aaaaaand, you're staying at Uncle Steve's tonight and I'm not going to have him be woken up by you traipsing in the house at some godforsaken hour," Danny replied in the same whiney tone his daughter had just used. He walked over, pressing a kiss against her head. "Plus, you gotta get up early for your mom to pick you up tomorrow. You've got a long plane ride ahead of you. So, midnight?" He looked at the couple, settling his eyes on Will until the young man gave him a firm nod, more out of fear than anything else. "Midnight, Sir."

"Good. Oh, and uh, if you were planning on staying the night, you're uh… yea, you're down in the basement. He's down in the basement, right Steve?"

"All the way down in the basement." Steve nodded firmly.

"You're both really annoying. No wonder you're perfect for each other." Grace said it affectionately, but it still stunned the pair as they watched the young couple walk around the house towards the driveway. "See what I mean?" Danny looked at Steve, sighing. "Hey, what was with you laughing earlier? I don't get it."

"You were getting me _straight_?" Steve cracked up again once Danny clearly understood the joke and hung his head, looking to Eddie for support. "Your human is a putz. A putz with bad jokes." A low grumble and a licking of chops was the only answer Danny received. "Yea, yea, loyal dogs and all. So," Danny looked around. "What's left to clean up?"

"Uh, just the condiments, the bread… some other stuff, don't worry about it." Steve stood up and headed for the laptop, which was still playing music from the playlist he'd started earlier. "I wanna do something else instead."

"What do you wanna do?"

Instead of answering, Steve turned the music down just a little bit and then turned towards Danny, beckoning him over with a slow gesture of his chin. Danny snickered. "You want to dance. With me? I forgot, you could actually do the romantic thing pretty well."

"I try. We don't have to, if you don't want to, but I actually kinda like this song and thought it would be… you know it would be nice."

Danny almost pinched himself, because he was sure that he'd never before seen Steve blush, but there was, sure as they were both standing there, a bashful hue spreading over his cheeks. "Well, I guess we gotta try out all kinds of stuff to see if we're compatible, you know?" He ambled over and snickered when both of them tried to take the lead position. Instead, they both settled for each man taking a hand and letting their arm rest on the back of their partner. It worked for the moment.

"Weird?" Steve asked after a few seconds of gentle swaying.

"Little bit," his partner answered, rolling bottom lip over his top. "Not used to my dates being taller than me."

"Melissa was a little taller than you, wasn't she?"

"Yea, by like an inch. I could still lead, though." He shuffled a bit closer to Steve, forcing himself to relax. "I have to admit, as far as modern pop goes, this song isn't bad," he muttered.

"Yea, it's a good song – 'cept neither of us is a girl and we're not wearing dresses, but other than that," Steve chuckled quietly, "the guy that sings this plays the guitar too, so that's a bonus." He tugged Danny a little closer, held him just a bit tighter. If this dance was all Steve was going to get, he was going to remember and savor every second of it.

"You're not a SEAL, you're an octopus."

"Huh?"

"Steve," Danny wriggled a bit and Steve's arm loosened back to its original grip. "I'm not gonna shut this down after just one dance, okay? I promise. Relax, alright?" He grinned as he squeezed Steve's back gently. "Were you ever this nervous with Catherine?"

Had he been? "I was nervous but uh, but not like this." And Steve realized even as he said it that it was the truth. Of course, he'd initially been nervous about asking Catherine out – he was a young guy back then and he didn't have a lot of serious experience with women. He'd thrown his life into his naval career and for all of Catherine's faults and the way things had ended between them, the girl was beautiful, everything Joe had said she was when he'd encouraged Steve all those years ago to date her.

"Well, don't be nervous."

"No?"

"Mhmm," Danny was looking up at him, that soft, gentle smile radiating off his face and right into Steve's heart. "Doesn't feel so weird anymore."

Steve felt himself settle and heard a little voice inside his head (which sounded feminine, and distinctly British oddly enough) saying ' _I told you so_ ' as he allowed himself to relax fully, following Danny's direction. "What time do you want to go into the restaurant tomorrow?"

"Nahele's gonna be there at 9:00am to go through some paperwork, be there when the morning crew comes in. I figure 11'ish?" Danny shrugged, his gaze not having moved from Steve's face. "I'll stay there till after the dinner rush, then come home – go, go home, I mean." Now it was his turn to flush. Danny could feel the heat on his neck; damn Freudian slips. Steve let it go. Sort of.

"No, why not come back here? I'll fire up the grill again, make dinner… just you and me."

Earnest Puppy Face mixed with Aneurysm Face was interesting, Danny decided. And as nice as Steve making dinner for them for their first official date sounded… "Steve, you just cooked for 30 people today, alright? It's a date, it should be something we both enjoy and as much as like the idea of you slaving over a hot stove for me-" Steve snickered, ducking his head as Danny continued- "the last thing I want is you doing all the work, or thinking you have to butter me up to keep me interested, okay? You get me shot at on a daily basis, I'll be on blood pressure medication well before I'm 50 with all the crazy stunts you pull and I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere, Babe. I promise."

Steve's hands forwent the standard dance position and instead slid around Danny's back, the other man following the SEAL's lead until they were both holding each other loosely, each man's arms around the other's waist, content, relaxed, and happy.

"You must really like this song, huh?" Danny quirked a grin.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because this is the third time it's playing; you put it on a loop, didn't you?" He watched as Steve's face made that shy expression again, and it simultaneously made Danny's heart flip and also made him want to smack every woman in the face that had ever walked away from his best friend. Then again, if one of them had stayed, he wouldn't be dancing here with Steve now.

 _Thank you, Catherine_.

No, he still wasn't over it. Danny Williams was not over Catherine Rollins standing in front of him, at his favorite spot in Hawaii, which he had invited her into, and telling him that she wanted 'nothing more' than to stay in Hawaii, stay with Steve, knowing all the while that she was going to do the exact opposite. Danny knew that Steve had pulled every ounce of talent with compartmentalization out of his ass to get through the weeks following her departure, and not just her leaving, but the _way_ she'd left: the last time Danny checked, people who were going to do aid work in Nepal weren't driven away in a government issue black SUV.

Soft, stilted humming brought him out of his thoughts and he realized that not only was Steve, with quiet ease, singing along with the song to which they were dancing, but that he, Danny, had at some point rested his head against the shoulder of his partner and both of their arms had tightened comfortably around the other. He felt Steve tilt his head just enough to speak quietly against his ear.

_"I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms, barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song…"_

Danny swallowed. He knew Steve could sing, new he could play the guitar, and he knew the story behind why Steve had stopped doing both back in high school, knew that he probably hadn't done that for anyone since then – Steve had felt too open, too vulnerable, too susceptible to harm. God, this was all encompassing, the trust and faith Steve was placing in him in that moment, too much, and yet somehow not enough as Steve finished out the song to the gentle string accompaniment.

_"I don't deserve this, you look perfect tonight."_

Before the tune could start up for a fourth time, Danny gently nosed at Steve's shoulder, his voice tight. "Inside?"

A nod from his partner. A gentle tug of his body towards the back door. Danny followed Steve like a willing limpet as the song faded away.

_I found a love for me_  
_Darling just dive right in_  
_And follow my lead_

**Author's Note:**

> For reference and disclaimer purposes, the song Steve and Danny are dancing to at the end is 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran, which I also have no claim of ownership to. If you haven't listened to it or heard it, I recommend it. I don't like most pop music these days, but I enjoy this one in its simplicity and sweetness, and it was this song that actually got the gears turning on this story.


End file.
